


The End of Days

by OtzotTheFree



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtzotTheFree/pseuds/OtzotTheFree
Summary: A girl lost in an unrecognizable world, soldiers fighting in a war they tried to avoid, and a lost soul desperate to help those that saved him.
Kudos: 1





	1. Messiah I

The silence is broken as a wall crumbles to dust. Red light emanates from the left hand of a figure in black robes. The light fades as he lowers his hand to his side.

He steps forward, dust flurries into the air as his foot lands on the stone ground. With every step he takes a blue light in the center of the room grows brighter. He raises his right hand as he approaches the light.

Streaks of beautiful blue light connect to his hand. Whispers begin to fill the room.

“We’ll give you power”

“We’ll grant your wishes”

The robed figure ignores the whispers as he steals the blue light from its place in the room.

The whispers stop. He opens his hand, looking at his palm he sees a small, blue, diamond-shaped stone. As soon as it’s in his gaze it turns to dust, then to pure light, before sinking into his hand.

He takes another deep breath as power surges throughout his body. The figure walks back through the hole, as he walks away he raises his right hand. Blue light shines from it as the dust floats from the ground and the wall reforms, untouched.


	2. The Gardens

“Come on, Astu! We’re almost to the top!” A girl shouts as she wipes the sweat from her forehead. Seconds later a four-legged creature sprints past her. The long hair that covers its neck and front shoulders blowing in the wind.  
“At least, I think we are,” the girl looks up the mountain they’re climbing, unable to gauge their distance from the top due to heavy clouds.  
She watches her pet as he chases a small lizard which scurries under a rock just before he can catch it.  
“Better luck next time,” she says as she touches his soft, blue fur. She walks past Astu as he digs at the rocks, trying to uncover the lizard.  
She sighs as she turns again, following the unnatural stone stairs that run up the side of the mountain. Astu runs ahead of her, seemingly chasing some other tiny creature.  
When she finally catches up to him he’s laying on a landing, chewing on one of the small lizards. The girl looks around the stone landing, her eyes widen as she sees the giant stone statue. She walks to the edge and sees a massive ravine, full of vines. All blooming with colorful flowers.  
She looks up at the towering statue. The once great protector of this place had been taken by nature. Vines snaked their way up him, cracks threatened to cause him to crumble, his massive sword being the only thing keeping him standing. She follows the blade, running her hand along its stone edge, and sees that it’s seemingly melded with the stone wall.  
She reaches into the bag at her side and pulls out a small piece of paper.  
The girl takes a deep breath before reading from the paper, “Allvren, Guardian of the Garden. Enter our world, enter this vessel.”  
As the words escape her mouth, the ground shakes. The girl looks up at the statue, beautiful blue light begins shining out of the cracks in the stone. The vines start to tear as the statue roars to life.  
The statue straightens itself out, pulling its sword from inside the wall, leaving no trace that it was there. The sword dangles down into the Garden as light pours from the statue's face.  
“Who has awoken us,” hundreds of voices fill the air, echoing deep into the ravine.  
“My name is Atticus Barlow,” the girl shouts, “I need to ask you some questions and we don’t have much time.”  
“The Barlow. It has begun,” the voices say, a large crack forms the right shoulder as the voices echo, “what do you wish to know, little one?”  
“What do you mean? You were expecting me?” The girl shouts with an unsteady voice.  
“We have expected the Barlows to return to this world, ” the left arm breaks at the elbow, tumbling down into the mass of vines, “it is only a matter of time before the world feels His wrath.”  
“Who’s wrath?” Atticus shouts at the statue, “do you know where the other Guardians are?”  
“Our brethren are falling. You must stop Him.”  
“Stop who!” Atticus shouts, she watches as the right hand cracks. Sending the sword crashing down through the vines.  
“Learn the prophecy. Find the others. Stop Him. Prevent their return.”  
“You need to tell me more! We don’t have time!”  
“The Guardians cannot help. We have become weak. Our Father has divided. We are lost.”  
“But you have information,” a crack forms in the chest of the statue, light pours from inside of the statue.  
“None that you need. Find the others. Stop Him,” the right arm crumbles, the shattered stone disappearing inside the flowers below.  
“I don’t understand!”  
“We are lost. Learn the prophecy. Stop Him.”  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  
“You must learn. You must finish it. You must prevent their return. You must find the others. Together you shall learn the prophecy,” the neck of the statue gives way, the head falling onto the stone landing.  
“We are lost. Find the others. Prevent their return,” the voices lessen as the stone statue falls into the garden, “learn the prophecy. Stop Him.”  
“Please tell me where the other guardians are!”  
“We are lost,” the light fades from the statue's head, “find the others. Learn the prophecy.”  
“Tell me where they are!” Atticus screams as tears begin welling up in her eyes.  
“Find the… ” the voices stop, the light gone.  
Atticus falls to her knees, Astu whimpers as he walks to Atticus. His wet nose lightly bumps her cheek. She slams her hands on the ground in anger, light erupts from the impact. Cracks form in the stone, purple light pours from the stone.  
Astu whines as the cracks spread, he backs away from Atticus. As soon as he does Atticus stops, looking over at her friend. She scoots towards him, wrapping her arms around him. The tendrils on his back stand up, he licks the tears from her face.  
“Okay okay,” Atticus says as she moves her head, laughing that her friend can always calm her down.  
Astu’s tendrils stand taller, “I guess you’re excited about the walk,” Atticus laughs out.  
Atticus stands up, wiping the rest of her tears away. She begins walking toward the stairs, Astu following close behind.  
“I guess we better start walking,” Atticus says as she looks down the mountain.


	3. A Forgotten Stor

I look out into the storm, watching the lightning form between the massive clouds., trying not to think about what day it is. I close my eyes and focus on keeping my breath steady.

“Spark 862H!” The voice breaks my concentration, “repurposing is today. I’m sure you’ve forgotten.”

“I didn’t forget Counselor, I was trying to find the storm,” I say, still facing the dark clouds.

“No point in trying now, you’re a weak link. You need to be repurposed,” his voice was cold.

“But Counselor, what if we had more time?” I turned to face him, his face displayed no emotions, “what if we could train for longer?”

“That’s not how we do things. You have 16 years, and you’ve failed,” the Counselor says.

“But Counselor, I’m sure if I just had more time,” I say as tears start welling up in my eyes.

The Counselor raises a hand. My back straightens as I immediately start holding my tears.

“You will be repurposed. You will provide yourself to the cause,” his hand goes back to his side, “now report to the medical bay. Repurposing will happen within the hour.”

“Yes Counselor”

“You have been deemed unworthy of the Gift of Arc and you will be repurposed so that our Elders May grow in strength. So that we may grow in strength. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, as it moves us forward. Prepare the piercings,” the Priest of Arc says, motioning toward one of the arc soldiers in the room. The soldier moves to the back of the room, out of my view.

I listen as intently as I can. I hear metal click together, fluid fills a chamber, and a machine power on.

The Priest walks to my far left, placing his hand on the head of the first spark to get repurposed.

“May your soul help the cause,” the Priest says, suddenly there’s the hiss of a needle, a scream of pain fills the room, and a thud follows as the body hits the floor.

The Priest of Arc walks to the next spark, he places his hand on the spark's head.

“May your soul help the cause,” he says as another hiss fills the room, a scream follows, and finally the thud.

Finally, he places his hand on my head. His palm is cold to the touch, I feel the cold needle on the back of my neck. My heart beats at my chest the Priest of Arc recites his prayer, “May your soul help the cause.”

I hear the hiss, my vision goes black.

“Now,” the emptiness says.

“What?” I respond, “where am I?”

“No time,” the voice responds, “move now!”

My vision comes back, I swing my left arm into the Priest's side. He falls to the ground as he grabs the place of impact. My head goes down as the hiss finishes, the needle scrapes my scalp as I duck out of the way.

I scramble out of formation, sweat already collecting on my forehead.

I tap my thumb and index finger together, for the first time in my life I feel the arc pulses from my implant. My body goes on autopilot, the guard from the door charges me, I send a beam of Arc energy through him, it bounces back and I catch it in my right hand.

The Priest of Arc stands up, raising his arm towards me, arc energy forming along his arm. A massive beam of energy shoots from his arm. In one quick motion, I grab it, combining it with my own, and throw it back at the Priest. He flies back, his body slamming into the wall.

My heart pulses hard as I sprint towards the door. Before I can open it the guard grabs me, I make a first. Arc charges in my implant, pulsing into my left arm. I send a massive wave into the guard's body.

His body hits the floor as I push the door open. I duck under the guard standing outside as he tries to grab me and I sprint towards the side of the ship.

_ ‘What am I doing? What am I doing’  _ I think to myself as I reach the edge of the ship.

I turn and see soldiers approaching me, surrounding me.

“You won’t survive the fall,” I recognize the voice as the fourth Counselor, “just let your soul help the cause.”

Tears fall from my eyes, “no! I’m not gonna let you kill me,” I press myself against the rail of the ship.

“But even in death, you help us grow!” The Counselor responds, “help the cause, you’ll never do anything else,” his voice is even and uncaring.

“What are we even doing here?” I yell at the group of soldiers that have surrounded me, “thousands of us up here, all trained for war, who are we fighting? What is our purpose?”

“We serve the Elders!” The counselor barks back at me, the soldiers inch closer.

“We don’t even see the Elders! We just take orders from the Priest and the council,” I wipe the tears from my eyes as I give a quick glance over the side of the ship, nothing but clouds all the way down.

“We do not need you,” the Counselor’s face is emotionless, “but if you stay, your meaningless existence will provide energy for something incredible. Something world changing!”

“What world!” I scream back at him, the soldiers step closer as I throw my legs over the rail of the ship, “we never leave the ships!”

“We don’t need to leave the ships,” The counselor steps forward, “either way you die, but if you stay your soul will help the cause.”

“I’d rather just die,” I say as I stare into his eyes. I let go of the rail, I fall backward. The wind rushes past me as the Counselor looks over the edge of the ship, the soldiers crowding behind him.

I cry as I fall.


	4. Messiah II

The wind blows dust up from the stone landing. The dust swirls in the air before blowing off the mountain.

The man in the black robe watches the dust go before turning to face the large stone head that sits, broken, on the landing.

“The ones who destroy you don’t even seek your power,” the man says, raising his left hand, “but I must thank them, doing the heavy lifting for me.”

The man quickly forms a first with his left hand, causing a small burst of red light. The stone head crumbles, revealing a small, red, diamond-shaped stone.

As soon as air touches the stone, whispers fill the man's ears.

“We will make you powerful.”

“We will make you win.”

The man, unaffected by the whispers, reaches down and grabs the stone with his left hand.

The whispers stop immediately.

The man then walks over to the edge of the landing, peering down into a ravine full of vines and flowers.

The man slowly extends his left index finger before quickly pulling it back in. As soon as he does the ravine bursts into flames. He watches the fire consume the once beautiful gardens before turning to walk down the mountain.


	5. The Stranded Soldiers

**Freh**

A loud pop breaks the silence of an old mechanics' home. Freh quickly scurries out from under the ruined starship, smoke slowly starting to rise from below it.

“Not again,” Freh sighs as he reaches to grab a small blue bulb from a box. He squeezes the bulb before throwing it under the starship. A light blue mist quickly forms under the ship, it fades as the smoke stops rising.

Freh lowers himself to the ground, sliding back under the ship. It doesn’t take him long to find the problem: a broken bleedium reactor.

“Damnit,” he says as he rolls out from under the ship, “Eltru might have one.”

Freh dusts himself off, grabs his small coin purse and walks to the small town on the horizon.

By the time he reaches Casibera the sun is high in the sky. Freh walks through the dirt roads before stopping at a smaller than average tent.

“Welcome Freh!” A shrill voice fills the tent, Freh looks at the creature behind the table. Thin tentacles connecting to its jaw wiggle slightly as it talks.

“Hey, Eltru,” Freh says as he walks over to the table, “I was wondering if you had bleedium reactor?”

“Still working on that ship?” Eltru asks as he turns and picks up a duster piece of metal off a shelf.

“Can’t give up now, I’ve spent too much time on it.” Freh takes a few silver coins from his purse and sets them on the counter. Eltru reaches across the table, sliding the coins to his side before placing the reactor in Freh’s hand.

“Good luck Freh, try not to blow yourself up.” Eltru says as he drops the coins into a box full of coins.

“I haven’t yet,” Freh says as he pockets the reactor, “See you next time.”

As Freh exits the tent his hair stands on end. He frantically looks around, his heart racing.

Freh looks to the sky just as arc energy flashes in the distance. His heart stops.

_ They’re here _ , he thinks to himself,  _ they finally found me. _

Freh watches the spot in the sky, waiting for more to arrive. No more flashes come.

_ Am I seeing things?  _ Freh asks himself.

His stomach interrupts the thought with a growl, he winces slightly.

_ I should eat, it’ll calm me down. _

**862H**

_ Falling _ , the only thing on my mind,  _ falling forever. _

I try to scream again but the wind still drowns out my voice. I try to summon the arc to stop my fall, but it fails.

Suddenly my vision is filled with arc energy. Then I see it: the ground.

The wind rips tears from my face as the thought of death fills my head.

_ All that for nothing,  _ I think as I try to stop myself from crying.

My vision goes to black again.

“You cannot die. Not here. Not now.”

“You again?” I say to the emptiness.

“You must live.”

“Who are you?”

“Don’t die.”

My vision comes back, the ground is closer. My heart feels like it’s going to explode.

I force my hands to the front of my body, fighting against the wind. Sparks of energy flash between my fingers before shooting toward the ground.

The feeling of my body fades as my cells turn into pure energy, just as my vision fades it returns. I’m standing in the ground, I look up and see streaks of arc energy in the air.

I take a deep breath and for the first time the air isn’t damp. I feel the soil beneath my bare feet, I fall to my knees as a realization that I’ve never been on the ground washes over me.

“They lied to us,” I say to myself, “the planet is not dead, there’s no war.”

I look around as I hear small noises from all around me. I see small animals sitting in nearly barren trees watching me.

“Go to the town,” I jump to my feet as the voice fills my head. My head scans around me, but I see nobody near me.

“To the town?” I ask aloud as I continue to look around, not seeing anything other than ancient trees and patchy grass.

“Walk forward, you’ll find it.”

“What if I don’t?” I ask the voice, still not knowing who it was or why they were talking to me. I wait for a moment for it to answer, but it doesn’t.

“Fine,” I mumble to myself as I look around again, spinning in a small circle. I choose a direction and begin walking.

I walk for what feels like forever before stopping on a small hill, a small town in the distance.

“Guess he was right,” I say to myself as I begin to walk down the hill.

It doesn’t take long for me to reach the town. When I do my mind is filled with wonder. Wonderful smells fill my senses as I walk down the dirt path, seeing other heliacs grilling different sizes of meats. I walk close and try to pick one up.

“Do you have money?” The man on the other side of the grill, annoyance in his voice.

“Money?” I ask, slightly confused, moving my hand back from the meat.

“No money, no food,” he uses a flat piece of metal to slide the meat across the metal bars towards himself.

I walk away looking at the other people eating, a few of them stare at me.

I walk away from the man behind the grill before I see a metal bin full of food.

I walk over to it and peer inside; pieces of food fill the metal bin. My stomach growls at me as I stare down at the food.

I reach down and pick a piece of cold meat from the top of the pile.

“Hey don’t eat that!” Somebody shouts from behind me.

I turn and see somebody looking directly at me.

“Why not?” I ask, still holding the meat.

“It’s garbage! You shouldn’t eat garbage.”

I drop the food, still not knowing what’s wrong with it and walk over to the person sitting alone at a table.

As I get to the table and sit he slides half of what he’s eating to me.

I pick it up and bite into it, never have I tasted anything so good. I take bigger and bigger bites before I look back at the kind stranger, who’s staring at me with a blank look on his face.

“I know what you are,” his voice a dry whisper.

“What?” I ask as I move the food away from my mouth.

“Are you here for me? Are there more of you?” The stranger asks, his voice as cold as the fall.

“What do you mean?”

His face softens a bit, “you’re a Stormbreaker, right? Are there more of you?” His voice is barely louder than the surrounding noise.

I slouch a little, “no, I’m alone here.”

“Why would they send just one?”

“They didn’t send me.”

“You ran?”

There’s a moment of silence before a smile fills his face.

“I ran too!” He shouts, the sudden noise catches me off guard.

“You’re one of us?” As I say the words a strange sadness consumes me. “One of them,” I correct myself.

“I was, but they said I was defective. They said I was going to be repurposed, never even got my implant. I jumped before the ceremony.”

Hundreds of questions fill my head, “how long have you been down here? Is everywhere like this? They said there was nothing but ruins down here.”

“They lied, everything I’ve seen is nothing like they said.”

“There’s no war?”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” the former Stormbreaker says, before slowly reaching his hand out, “well I’m Freh, nice to meet you.”

I reach my hand out, “I’m 862H.”

“We’ll find you a better name than that.”

I smile for the first time in my memory, “I’d like that.”


	6. Casibera

Atticus pets the tuft of fur on Astu’s front shoulders. The thin tendrils raise as she does, their ends glowing lightly. 

“We should leave soon,” Atticus says as she makes a fist over the small flame in a ring of stones. A flash of light emits from her hand, the light fades and the fire turns to ash.

Astu stands up; he stretches his four legs before walking around their camp slowly.

Atticus spends a couple minutes untying a tarp from a tree before placing it back in her bag. 

“What do you think that guardian meant?” Atticus asks her unresponsive friend as he trots alongside her.

The pair walk for hours before deciding to take a break. They sit at the edge of the dried path of a river. Atticus opens her bag and pulls out a thin, but heavy dagger.

She holds it for a moment before a vision appears in front of her. A woman wearing an elegant white dress with light purple trim. A silver crown sits on her head with bright purple stones embedded in it. Her face is calm as she stares at Atticus.

“Hello grandmother,” Atticus is the first to speak.

“Atticus, it has been too long,” her grandmother responds. She looks around before sitting, facing Atticus.

“I know. I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you in a long time,” Atticus says, still holding the blade. “I talked to another Guardian. It was Allvren, in the gardens.”

“Ah yes, Allvren. I remember when we first discovered him. I was just a young girl then, younger than you if my memory serves.”

“Well, he said pretty much the same thing as the others. About the prophecy, about the ‘others’, and about preventing their return,” Atticus pets Astu’s fur with her free hand, “are you sure you don’t know anything about what they’re saying?”

“You know I don’t, Atticus. I want to help you, I really do, but only your mother could know about this. She was there before the Fall, she’s the one that sent you forward.”

“I know, I know. And you don’t know what happened during the Fall?”

“I don’t. My soul is in the blade and it was with you. We were gone before it happened.”

“Do you know of any other Guardians? Would it be worth it to find another?”

“They’ve all said the same thing so far,” the vision adjusts the way she’s sitting, “you should focus on finding what this prophecy is.”

“I guess I can look, but I don’t even…” Atticus stops talking as a flash of arc energy fills the sky, “what was that?”

“Arc?” The vision says, looking in the same spot.

“I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“You wouldn’t, the arc hasn’t been seen since the time of my grandmother. The arc wielders were thought to be extinct.”

Atticus stands up, still holding the knife. Astu takes note of this and follows suit. The vision watches them walk forward.

“Should you go?” The vision appears standing next to her granddaughter.

“Nothing else I can do.”

“Don’t travel with the blade out.”

“I know, I’ll see you another time.”

Her grandmother says nothing as Atticus puts the knife back into her bag. The vision fades as soon as the blade leaves her hand.

~•~

A massive stone circle sits upright in the middle of a forest. Silence fills the air, the trees have no leaves, and the air is unmoving.

A small light comes from nothing in the middle of the stone circle. The light quickly fills the circle and a deafening burst of energy breaks the silence. As the light begins to fade, the limp body of a girl forms in the center of the circle. The girl falls to the ground as the light disappears.

When she hits the ground the pain wakes her up. She immediately vomits. She tries to wipe her face before vomiting again; bile begins to pool as she vomits for the third time.

The girl holds back from throwing up again. She rolls onto her back looking up at the sky, taking deep breaths.

She lies still for a moment before soft footsteps approach her. She looks over and sees a small, four legged animal. The creature stops for a moment, thin tendrils rise from the light blue fur covering his neck and shoulders.

The two look at each other for what feels like hours before the animal takes another step forward. It slowly approaches the girl, who stays still watching the creature.

The animal stops a few feet from the girl. They stare at each other for a short moment before the creature bends its head down and begins licking up the bile.

~•~

Atticus and Astu find themselves standing at the edge of a forest, a small town in the distance.

“The flash seemed to be near here,” Atticus says as she looks back at the sky, half expecting to see another flash.

Atticus looks back down and sighs, “to the town then.”

When the pair walks into town, down the dirt path, people stare. Atticus heard them whisper to each other.

“Why’s she dressed like that?”

“She travels with a verna?”

“Looks like trouble.”

She tries to ignore it as she explores the town, making sure Astu stays close to her.

They walk through the town, people stare, watching their every step.

Finally, they come to what seems to be the center of the town. There’s rows of wooden tables and a cobblestone circle in the middle. Atticus looks in the circle and sees a pool of water at the very bottom.

“Well, well, well,” a voice says from behind Atticus, she turns and sees two large men standing side by side, “what are you doing here, stranger?” The man in the left talks, anger in his voice.

“Looking for the flash from the sky,” Atticus says, she watches as Astu moves to stand between his friend and the two men.

“The flash? I think she’s messed up in the head,” the man on the right says to the one on the left.

“We can teach her the way things work in our town,” the one on the left says.

Atticus looks away from their faces and sees a small light forming on a hill outside of town. She moves quicker than she can’t think.

Her hand flies in front of her, right between the two men in front of her. A burst of purple energy comes from her hand sending the two mean flying to the ground.

As this happens the light on the hill flashes before Atticus feels something punch through her right arm, it hits the cobblestone well and cracks the side of it.

Atticus winces from the pain and falls to the ground, holding onto Astu for support.

“She attacked us!” One of the men shouts, causing heads to turn to the scene unfolding in between the tables.

Atticus looks and sees another small light forming, she holds her left hand out, the distant light flashes, and Atticus sends a burst of purple energy out. She and Astu slide out of the way as she watches a dart of light crash into the cobblestone, causing stones to fall into the water below.

This causes even more confusion in the crowd, some look up toward the hill, but others start to crowd Atticus and Astu.

“No, it’s not me,” Atticus chokes out as she holds her arm. Astu growls are the approaching crowd.

Before anybody can hurt Atticus a figure appears, floating above the crowd.

“An ancient, undying mortal,” the figure's voice booms over the crowd, nearly everybody turns to look at him, “stranded soldiers from a forgotten war, the Messiah from an old world.” At this point the entire crowd is staring at him, “together shall bring forth gods of old, to be free at last. Their power shall recreate the world.”

The figure stops talking for a moment, nobody makes a noise.

“For it to be true, you must die, Atticus Barlow.”

Atticus looks at the figure, pain radiating from her arm.

“So just make this easy,” the figure raises an arm, lazily pointing it at Atticus. Red light collects in his hand. Before it can burst out a streak of arc energy hits him in the chest.

The figure falls to the ground as 862H stands on top of a table, breathing heavily.

The crowd screams and scatters as the figure begins to rise again.

“The soldiers,” he says as 862H readies another bolt of energy.

Atticus scurries behind an upturned table, her heart racing.

Arc flashes across the now empty courtyard, the figure catches the energy with his left hand before redirecting it into the sky.

“You cannot stop it from happening, we have met. It is too late,” the figure says as he forms a first with his right hand, blue energy surrounds his first and 862H, who’s trying to form another bolt of arc, is pushed back off the table.

Freh breaks his fall and they tumble to the ground.

Atticus pushing through her pain looks over the table and forms of purple energy in her hands. She creates a large ball before throwing it at the figure. It hits his body and bursts, the energy wraps around his body and pulls him toward the ground. He screams in pain as the energy creates chains that hold him in the dirt road.

Atticus watches and 862H and Freh run down the street, Atticus follows with Astu close behind.

“You cannot escape your destiny!” The man shouts between screams, the group of four sprint down a dirt road, away from the courtyard.

The group follows Freh, turning down side roads and running through gaps in vendor stalls. As they sprint down a dirt road, leading out of town, they hear an explosion.

Atticus shutters, “he broke my chains,” she says between breaths.

“We need to get out of town, there’s an old mechanics place that I’ve been staying at. It’s not far,” Freh says as he leads them out of the town.

Atticus looks back and sees massive fires spreading over the town, consuming whole buildings. She looks ahead, seeing a tall building that’s barely standing.

The group runs across the barren ground, screams and cries coming from the town behind them. When they reach the mechanic’s shop Freh quickly slides under the ruined starship hanging from the large metal awning connected to the tall building.

The others catch their breath as they look back towards the town, smoke rising from the buildings. Atticus rubs Astu’s fur as he pants on the ground.

“Who was that guy?” 862H asks, wiping sweat from his forehead. 

“I’ve never seen him before,” Atticus says back to him.

“What magic was that? How did it bind him?”

“My grandmother calls it Nihility. She says it can make all sorts of things,” Atticus falls to the ground, sitting next to Astu.

She looks at where she was hit on her arm. The wound glows red faintly and she winces as the throbbing pain registers with her. 

“How’s your arm?” 862H asks, noticing Atticus is ripping her sleeve off, revealing a small hole in her arm, long red streaks covering her arm.

“I- I’m not sure,” Atticus says as her eyes flutter, “I don’t know what this is,” she leans on Astu to keep from falling over.

“Hey are you okay?” 862H steps towards Atticus just as Freh slides out from under the ship.

“The reactors in place, it’ll fly but not for long,” Freh says as he stands up.

“I think I’m really hurt,” Atticus says weakly as she falls over. Astu immediately stands up and stands over her body, nudging her with his nose and whimpering slightly.

862H walks over to Atticus, kneeling down and lightly shaking her arm.

“I know she’s hurt but I think we have to go,” Freh says as he looks back at the town, fires raging as a small black figure rises above the burning town.

“Well we can’t leave her, will she fit in the ship?”

“Yeah, we can all fit in there, but that thing might not be too comfy,” Freh says as he points at Astu, who’s still whimpering over Atticus.

“Okay well we need to go,” 862H says as he notices the figure floating above the town.

Together, Freh and 862H lift Atticus and set her behind the two seats in the ship, Astu follows her into the small space. Freh and 862H climb over them and sit in the front seats of the ship.

Freh presses a couple of buttons and the ship roars to life. The engine sputters before violently shaking the entire ship.

“Is this thing even safe?” 862H asks, gripping the small handle on the side of the ship.

“I’m not sure, I never really expected to ever fly it,” Freh says as he flips a switch which causes the engine to get even louder. The ship lurches forward slightly, breaking the chains holding it to the metal awning.

Freh grips the yoke, pulling it back. The ship's nose slowly moves to point skyward.

“Hold on everybody,” Freh says as he turns a dial up. The ship moves faster, slowly pulling off the ground.

The ship shoots forward, into the sky. 862H heard the final chains snap as they flew further from the town.

“How far will this thing go?” 862H asks as he looks back to check on Atticus, who’s still unconscious. Astu keeps his body over hers, watching the two strangers. 

“I have no idea, hopefully far enough,” Freh says as he tries to steady the ship as the engine sends another violent shake out.

The ship shutters, a piece of metal sheeting peels off the front of the ship as the gain speed.

“Can you see that guy? Is he following us?”

862H looks back through a small window above Atticus and Astu, “I don’t see anything, I think we’re okay.”

The two stay quiet for a bit as they fly through the sky, hoping the ship doesn’t give out.

862H looks back at Atticus, who’s still unmoving, Astu laying over her body.

The silence is broken as something explodes in the back of the ship. Freh tries to keep the ship from spinning but can barely keep it flying straight.

“You cannot escape, young soldier. The prophecy shall come to fruition,” a voice comes from nowhere, 862H recognizes it as the figure that attacked them.

“Did you hear that?” 862H asks, holding on to the handle as the ship begins to point toward the ground.

“The explosion? No I think I missed it,” Freh says sarcastically as he pulls on the yoke, trying to keep the ship from plummeting.

“She will die. But don’t worry, you’ll be okay,” The voice says.

862H looks at Freh, who doesn’t seem to notice the voice at all. He looks back at Atticus, who’s still on the ground. 

“I don’t think I can stop it from crashing,” Freh says as smoke starts pouring from the front of the ship.

The pair watched as the ground gets closer and closer, the ship barely gliding along. Freh keeps the yoke pulled back, hoping to keep gliding until they’re not over a forest.

Another explosion is heard from the back of the ship, Astu whimpers as a hole forms in the ship.

“I can’t stop it!” Freh shouts as he tries desperately to keep the ship up, “hold on!” His voice barely audible over the air rushing out of the ship.

“You cannot escape destiny,” the voice says to 862H as they hit the ground.


	7. Messiah III

A young boy lays on the ground, curled up and crying. His wails are the only thing that can be heard for miles.

His right hand glows a faint blue. His clothes are singed and torn. He cries for what feels like hours before he hears the first voice.

“We know the one to blame for your suffering,” a voice says. A voice he recognizes.

“Father?” he says as he sits up and quickly scans his surroundings, stopping the tears for just a moment.

“I am not your father,” this time it sounds like his mother.

The boy continues to look around, calmed by the familiar voices.

“But I can help you,” his sister’s voice echoes around him. “I can bring them back for you.”

“You can?” the boy says as he continues to search for the source of the voice.

“Of course, but first you have to do something for me,” his school teachers voice says, he looks down at the small blue stone in his hand where the voices seem to be coming from.

“What would I have to do?” The boy asks, looking at the stone.

“Visit me. Learn your destiny. And bring those who hurt you to justice,” his grandmother’s voice says, coming from the stone.

“How do I visit you?” the boy asks while wiping dry tears from his face.

“Ask to “visit FeTern,’” his mother’s voice says.

“Can I visit FeTern?” The boy asks, looking at the stone.

Blue light slowly envelops the boy. He watches it silently as it covers his body. As soon as the light completely covers his body he vanishes from sight.


	8. The Curse

Pain is the first thing I can feel. My head spins as my eyes slowly open. My head throbs as I try to roll over to my side, but I can’t move. I look down at my body, struggling to lift my head.

“That’s not good,” I say weakly as I see the large piece of metal pinning my body down. I start to breath quickly, remembering what happened. I turn my head to try and get a bearing, I see smoke rising from the crash site; I see a body laying a short ways away from me.

“Freh,” I call out, “Freh are you okay?” I don’t wait for a response, I try to push the metal off me, but I’m unable to get a proper hold on it.

“You survived,” the voice comes back., “congratulations.”

“Leave me alone,” I say as I try to lift the debris again.

“We are connected. Across time, and in your case, space. Our destiny will become our reality.”

“Shut up!” I scream, throwing my head back.

“You will learn to accept it. There is no way for you to stop it,” the voice says again, his words echoing in my head.

“Please just leave me alone,” I close my eyes, trying to stop tears from forming. My body exhausted from all the running, all the fighting. “Please, I just want to rest.”

“You do not get to rest, young soldier,” the voice says, “we must work toward our destiny, we are so close.”

“I don’t want to!” I scream as I try again to move the debris.

“Don’t you understand?” the man says to me, “it has been written. It does not matter if you ‘want’ to. We have a fate, our lives have a purpose. One that is more important than anything you could imagine.”

Before I can respond I hear subtle movement to my side.

“Freh, is that you?” I call out, my heart racing again, “are you okay?”

The figure rises to their knees before saying anything, “I’m okay,” his voice comes out dry and raspy. He slowly rises to his feet, working hard to keep himself balanced as he does.

He turns to face me, small cuts covering his face. He stumbles over to me, falling to his knees next to me. 

“Can you feel your legs? Are they broken?” He asks, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I- I don’t think they’re broken. But they feel numb.” I say as I stare at his face, quietly inspecting the cuts.

“Okay, okay. Give me a second and I’ll try to get this off of you,” he stands up and looks around, stumbling around the crash site. He walks around for a minute before kneeling to pick something up.

Freh stands back up; a small black box in his hand. He comes back to me and kneels down again. He slowly slides the box under the debris on top of me. Once it’s there he presses a small button on the side and the box begins to hum.

The box expands, growing in height. It hums louder as the debris slowly lifts off my legs. I feel blood rush into my legs as I slide out from under the metal. The small box, now a long rectangle, stops humming but stays in place.

I stand up, wobbling as I try to keep my legs from giving out. Freh stands up next to me and holds my shoulders, keeping me on my feet. I stare at him for a second before wrapping my arms around him.

“Thank you,” I say, as a feeling of safety fills my mind.

“Oh, of course,” Freh says quietly as he hugs me back.

I open my eyes and see a small, four-legged creature staring at me. It’s blue fur matted and dirty; it looks at me for a second longer before turning and walking around a piece of the wreckage. I pull away from the hug, meeting Freh’s gaze as I do. I silently walk around him and follow the small creature. 

As I turn around the wreckage my heart sinks. I see the small creature laying on the ground next to the lifeless body of the girl. I walk closer, which causes the animal to look at me, giving off a weak growl. I ignore the growl as I kneel down next to the body, looking for any sign of life. But her chest doesn’t rise and her eyes don’t move.

“Did you hear her name?” Freh asks from behind me.

“That man said it, I think it was Atticus,” I say as I look at her face. Strands of her silver hair stuck to her face.

“What about that thing?” Freh says, I don’t turn around but I assume he means the creature laying next to her.

“I think they were friends or something. Do you know what it is?”

“I’ve never seen anything like that, most of the animals I’ve seen as a lot smaller than that.”

“Okay, what should we do?” I say as I look back at Freh, who’s just a few feet behind me.

“I’m not sure,” he moves a little closer, “should we bury her?”

“Do we have a shovel?”

He looks behind him, scanning the wreckage, “I don’t think so,” he says sadly.

“Let’s get away from her, we can figure this out,” I say as I stand up and step back away from her body.

I turn around and walk past Freh, who follows shortly after.

“What about that thing?” Freh says, looking back at the animal that’s now resting its head on her stomach.

“I don’t think it wants to leave her,” I say as I turn around.

“I guess we shouldn’t make it,” Freh says as he turns away, walking with me back to where we started.

~•~

Nothing.

Atticus floats in nothing.

A light. Both incredibly bright and as dim as can be.

_ Is that the Barlow? _ The first light thinks.

A second impossible light appears.

_ I believe it is, _ the second light thinks.

_ So they are returning?  _

_ She has died. That was the first major step.  _

_ What does that mean for us?  _

_ I am not sure. But we can’t stop it.  _

_ So we have to send her back?  _

_ Yes. We were told not to keep her.  _

_ What if we do?  _

_ I am not sure, but we have to send her back. _

_ Why? _ _   
_ _ It is supposed to happen.  _

_ Then you do it. _

_ You will not?  _

_ I do not want them to come back. Do you not remember what they were like?  _

_ The new ones just fight.  _

_ But were they better? At least the new ones give us some kind of entertainment.  _

_ Better?  _ The second light thinks mockingly,  _ are you empathizing? We have our own agency. Their will does not matter to us. _

_ Should we not care? We deal with their souls. We should care for them. _

_ We can not keep her. They must return. _

_ Then send her back. _

_ Fine. _

The second light changes. It forms around Atticus’s body.

_ They will suffer _ , the first light thinks.

_ It does not matter. They are meaningless,  _ the second light thinks. The second light becomes brighter while also getting dimmer.

Nothing remains.

The lights fade.

~•~

I look up at the sky, seeing thousands of stars for the first time. Freh lays down next to me, looking up at the stars with me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, breaking the silence of the night.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Freh responds, still looking at the sky.

I glance over at Freh, his face lit by the moonlight, “no, I do. I think I led him to you,” he looks at me as I say this.

“What do you mean?”

“I hear his voice. In my head. He saved my life, he’s the reason I escaped the ship.”

“He talks to you?”

“Only sometimes,” we stare at each other, “so I’m sorry Freh.”

“No. Don’t be sorry. You didn’t know,”

“But I should’ve stayed away from you,” tears begin forming in my eyes.

“I’m glad you didn’t. What if he came to the town even without you? I might not have made it out.”

I look at him, his voice calming me down.

“I promise it’s okay. I don’t blame you,” he smiles a bit as he talks.

The tears slowly stop as we continue to look at each other. Freh smiles at me before turning toward the sky.

“Do you know the names of the moons?”

I watch him as he talks, his voice keeping me from crying.

“That one,” he points toward the sky, at the smaller moon, “that’s called Galret.”

“What about that one?” I say as I look away from him and point at the larger moon.

“That’s Yelrit,” he looks around a little, “there’s another but it’s not out right now. It’s called Frilt.”

“I didn’t even know we had moons.”

“Yeah, they don’t teach us much up there. I learned about them from the locals.”

“I like it down here,” I say as I put my hands to my sides.

“I do too,” Freh says as he moves his hand, lightly touching mine.

We lay in silence for a few moments, before we hear movement.

I sit up, looking around.

“Did you hear that?” I ask as Freh sits up next to me.

“Yeah, was it that animal?”

“I’m not sure,” I say as I rise to my feet, “let’s go check.”

Freh stands up behind me and we walk toward where we found Atticus.

Before we can turn the corner Atticus steps out from behind the wreckage.

“Help,” she says weakly before falling to the ground.


End file.
